Christmas Spice
by Kitty September
Summary: The lead up to Christmas in the Rogers-Barnes apartment of Avengers Tower is always eventful, if not always peaceful. YA and other 616 cameos. Stucky M/M - if the summary didn't give that away. Christmas! Lots of Christmas!
1. Mistletoe

"Buck?"

"Mhmm?" Bucky says without looking up from his tablet. Someone (Tony) got him a Marvel Unlimited account for his birthday and he's been reading every Captain America comic written since his 'death'. He's kind of hooked even though he won't admit it. Least of all to Steve.

"C'mere?"

Bucky finally looks up to blink at 6'2" of blond super soldier looking at him helplessly from the kitchen.

Bucky rolls his eyes but gives in. The sooner he gives in the sooner he'll be allowed to get back to reading.

He gets up and walks over to the kitchen to help with whatever hairbrained scheme the big lug has started this time. At least all of the schemes in the lead up to Christmas have mostly just involved too much cinnamon and nutmeg rather than too many Hydra agents and too much blood. Unlike the pre-Easter schemes.

"What's that?" Steve asks once Bucky gets to his side. There's a gleam in his eyes. The sort that means trouble. Bucky's own eyes narrow in response.

"What's what, Steve?"

Steve outright grins then, there's a lot of devil in him for such a good Catholic kid. He points above their heads.

Mistletoe. Of course.

Bucky grins and wraps his arm around Steve's waist (the metal one because he's not above a little show of strength now and then - especially when it makes Steve melt like that).

"You could'a just asked if you wanted to kiss me, Stevie."

Steve shrugs.

"This way I won it."

He sounds so smug he could be dripping honey.

Bucky kisses him anyway. Slow and soft and hot. Building the pace over time, pushing just a little deeper, just a little warmer. He presses both their bodies close, taut on the edge of molten. And Steve goes with it. Steve always goes with it. He folds in against Bucky and lets him fucking ravage him with affection. Bucky teases them both drags it out, drags them both in.

Then he pulls back, sudden and Winter Soldier swift.

Steve actually stumbles. His cheeks are flushed and he's obviously aroused. Cock hard in his jeans.

Bucky grins.

"You jerk," Steve says laced with lust but without any venom.

"Yeah, well. Now who won." Bucky can't help taunting him on lazy days like this. It might just be his favorite thing about the future. There aren't any flying cars, but there's this.

Steve never lets him win for long, and goddamn is it worth it.


	2. Booby Trap

"Holy motherf-" Crash. Thud. "Bucky!"

Bucky sighs. It's 5am and the bed is warm and the sheets are fresh washed and made of nicer fabrics than most of his clothes have ever been in the past. He doesn't like getting out of bed. It smells like Steve and cotton and sunlight. It's nice. And Steve's safe. He may not know it, but he's fine. Bucky can tell exactly where the shouting was coming from and he knows exactly what's causing it. It's his own punkass fault and Bucky refuses to feel even a moment of pity for him.

"Bucky!" Steve yells out again. More insistent and maybe, just maybe, a little indignant.

Bucky groans and stretches. But he gives in and gets up too. He always gives in to Steve.

He pads out into the hallway in nothing but the Captain America boxer shorts that Steve pretends to hate but secretly kinda adores. Steve is far less likely to murder him if he's both topless and half asleep. It'll be fine.

"Steve?" Bucky says in a neutral tone of voice, like Steve hasn't just been hollering for him for five minutes.

"Bucky," Steve says with grim patience. "Why is there C4 rigged all the way around the hall cupboard?"

Bucky grins. Bucky is a genius and his brilliance is about to be recognised.

"Because you, Steven Grant Rogers, are a sneaky little punk."

Steve glares. It's adorable. Bucky wants to walk over there and kiss him senseless. But that would be far too close to giving him what he wants.

Because Steve is stuck. He can't move without triggering the booby trap, and as far as Steve knows, blowing up half their apartment. Bucky takes a moment to admire the way Steve's forearm tenses, muscles tight in both frustration and careful control. Bucky licks him lips, can't help letting a little bit of what Steve inspires in him show on his face.

Steve must see it there because he sighs. It sounds kind of put-upon, which is kinda rude. Steve usually loves Bucky's imagination, it's only ever got them into mostly good places. Mostly. If it wasn't for the way Steve's body inspires him they never would have figured out how the serum allows Steve to-

"Bucky!" Steve snaps. Bucky's eyes may have been wandering over Steve's tense posture and damn near perfect ass rather than the booby trap. It happens.

"Steve?" Bucky replies, looking back up to Steve's eyes. That's just as bad for giving him dirty thoughts, but he doesn't tell Steve that.

"Explosives! Hall cupboard? Why?"

Steve seems upset. Typical.

"You know why," Bucky says. Quite reasonably, if you ask Bucky.

Steve blinks at him then looks back at the door handle, then back to Bucky.

"Really?" Steve sounds like he's figured it out but doesn't believe it. He should.

"Yes. Every year you try and find out what your presents are weeks in advance. It ruins Christmas, Steve. You can't ruin Christmas. What would Oprah say if she knew that Captain America ruined Christmas?"

Steve makes that irresistibly frustrated sound in the back of his throat, and Bucky smiles.

"C-fucking-4 ruins Christmas, Bucky!"

"Nah, that just adds to the fun." Bucky winks at him, and despite his potentially dire situation Steve gives in and smiles, just a little.

"You're insane," Steve says, through an exasperated laugh.

"You love it," Bucky says and smirks his way right up to Steve.

He places his hand over Steve's then reaches up with the metal one to flick the booby catch on the door frame. He can feel it when Steve relaxes, all the tension just washing out of him and he leans against Bucky, just a little. Just enough.

"Now," Bucky says, starting to kiss a line alone Steve's shoulder. "What's my reward for saving Captain America's perfectly sculpted bacon, huh, Stevie?"

"How about, me not telling the bomb squad where the C4 came from?"

"No, that's no fun at all. I've got a much better idea."

"Oh yeah?"

"Mhmm." Bucky pulls Steve just a little closer, close enough to give him an idea. "Life and limb, Steve. It gets a fella's blood going."

"Right."

Bucky kisses the sensitive spot behind Steve's ear.

"We were never in any danger were we?" Steve guesses.

"Depends what kinda danger you mean?" Bucky says, still more interested in the way Steve arches his neck back when he bites just there. "We weren't gonna blow up, no. But if you touch those presents you are going to live to regret it."

"Oh yeah?"

Bucky is distracted enough by nibbling on Steve's ear that he almost misses it. Steve shifts his weight, almost subtle, for Steve, and he gets a hold on Bucky's wrist. Not the sort of hold you need for what Bucky has planned. Still hot, but not what he had planned.

"Hey-"

Before Bucky can react Steve spins them, throws his weight into it and flips them so Bucky lands on his back, on the floor with a solid thump. Steve lands on top of him, pinning him with his gaze as effectively as his body.

They're both breathing harder than necessary. Bucky would lean up and kiss him, except that it would just encourage him.

"I'm still not telling you what you're getting for Christmas."

"Wanna bet?" Steve's voice does that lower than usual, gravel thing that does all sorts of other things to Bucky.

Hell yeah, he does.


	3. Hawkeye

Bucky comes home to find Hawkeye on his couch. This isn't unusual. Clint has an icepack pressed to one eye and a bottle of beer in his free hand.

"Enph," Clint mumbles through a split and swollen lip. That was probably hello.

"What happened to you? Bad guys or 'Tasha?"

"Nah, Nat doesn't hit me unless I beg her t-"

"Too much information Barton. You want to know what Steve does when-"

"Steve is here," Steve's voice carries from the depths of the apartment. The art studio if Bucky had to guess.

Bucky dumps his burdens on the Kitchen counter. Two brown paper bags full of enough New York style filled bagels to keep two super soldiers satisfied, and a paper tray with coffee. One black as sin, which Bucky thinks defeats the purpose and he may as well make it on the stove, and one with Christmas spice and two types of cream.

"Good," Bucky smirks back, raising his voice to match. "Because Bucky's got Steve coffee!"

"Where's Clint's?" Clint complains, happily taking up this new development in Avenger's speech patterns.

"On the stove, and in the cupboard where surprise Avengers can find it for 'emselves," Bucky tells him.

"Ug, old people." Clint goes back to lying on the couch, apparently not as keen on coffee as he claims. If Bucky was nicer he'd go get him one, or get Jarvis to send an intern. But he's not, so he just gets the guy another beer instead. He does let him have a bagel though, it's almost Christmas after all.

If Bucky happens to throw a blanket on Clint once he's sleeping no one comments on it. Even if they did notice he'd just tell them it's so Natalia doesn't kill him if Barton gets a chill on their watch. Seems like a fair possibility actually.

It's also possible that Bucky has a soft spot for reckless blonds with a suicidal penchant for standing up to things ten times their size. That one he's not gonna admit though. Not even if the Black Widow herself gives him a disgustingly fond smile when she eventually comes to collect her broken blond and give his a quick hug.

They never do find out just what gave Clint that particular black eye.


	4. Hawkeye, Redux

Bucky comes home the next day from his run, to find a Hawkeye on his couch again. This one isn't the one he's used to though. Not really.

"Um, hey," Kate Bishop waves at him awkwardly.

She's dressed for battle, well as much as those gals with the costume windows ever are. Bucky idly wonders if he can convince Steve that there is some practical value to costume windows.

She's got Barton's dog with her.

"Can you um… look after Lucky for like six hours? He ate some irradiated super serum stuff and um… please"

Bucky blinks at her. He thinks he understood what she's asking of him. Mostly. Bucky likes the dog. Mostly because the dog unquestioningly likes Bucky. So he's going to say yes, but young Hawkeye is still mildly afraid of him. He likes the way she doesn't let it stop her. So he waits a bit longer before responding.

"Oh god," Kate says eyes going wide. "I can't just asked Captain America's boyfriend to babysit my dog. What is my life, even."

Bucky shrugs. "Welcome to the Avengers. And yeah, I'll look after the dog incase it hulks out. You're welcome."

"Thanks," She grins a bit more naturally this time, and salutes him with her bow. She's already a lot less awkward when Steve comes back into the room in uniform.

Steve kisses Bucky on the cheek as they leave with his normal request for Bucky not to worry and not to watch the news stations while he's working.

Bucky ignores the warning not to watch the TV. He's not disappointed. Steve and the Baby Avengers vs Mole Man. It's pure entertainment. And they're close enough that Bucky could get out there and have Steve's six if he needed to. So his heart only almost stops once. It's fine. Knowing there are two purple clad arches in the roofs helping keep Steve and mini-Steve (sorry, Patriot) safe is kinda comforting too.

Sadly the dog doesn't hulk out. But it does help Bucky finish off last night's pizza, so there's that.


	5. Snow

The Avengers take the annual rooftop snowball fight very seriously. Tony even has a white suit, which Bucky is convinced was built for just such occasions. What with little built in trowels and an attachment which looks suspiciously like an ice cream scoop.

Luckily for their side, Wanda turns out to have a great throwing arm and Peitro as just as good with a speedball as you'd expect.

Eventually Bucky gets bored of obliterating the enemy from his snowy foxhole though, and grabs Steve's red-white-and-blue ankle as it passes.

Steve hits the ground with a satisfactory 'unf' sound.

"Hey-" Steve manages to say. "You're on my side."

"Actually," Bucky corrects him, as he pulls Steve bodily into the hollow with him. "I'm on your front."

"Smartass."

"Yep."

Bucky lets himself get lost in the taste of Steve's lips, and the warmth of his body in contrast to the chill around them. They've won enough wars, they don't need to win a snowball fight. Not when they can win this instead.

"Hey, where's-" one of the Baby Avengers is calling out. Stupid observant kids. "Oh- my- god!"

Yep, way too observant. He's pretty sure that was one of Wanda's magic babies. Bobby? Billy? Something.

"Oh, I called it," and that's baby-Wanda's alien boy toy. If they weren't kind of adorable, Bucky would be a lot more annoyed at them.

Bucky sighs and lets Steve up. But not before whispering into his blushing ear. "We are not finished with this, Rogers." Worth it.


	6. The Scarf (fixed)

The kiss isn't meant to be a big deal.

It's really not. But Fox News is going frantic again. And it's not even Bucky's fault. It's Steve's fault. But as usual it's Bucky that takes the blame.

Jen Walters has that look on her face. The one that tells Bucky that he's the bane of her existence, even though winning the Winter Soldier case is making her career. Well, that and being all hot and green occasionally, anyway. Sometimes she reminds him a bit of Winnie Barnes and Sarah Rogers both combined. It's that mom look, which is apparently a put-upon lawyer look too. At least Pepper isn't back from LA yet. Two of that look might make a fella turn into a toddler again through sheer force of distain.

"Why?" she asks, slamming the Times and a copy of Hello magazine both down in front of Bucky and Steve.

"It's the scarf," Bucky admits. Steve stifles a giggle.

Jennifer does not look impressed.

But the thing is, she doesn't understand how cute Steve looks when he's trying to be all incognito. And, well it's more than a fella can take, when he flushes like that. He hadn't really thought about it. Just grabbed the ends of the stupid red knitted scarf and coiled Steve in close. It wasn't even a very passionate kiss. Well, not for them.

Unfortunately, it seems the paparazzi are getting better at spotting Steve's dorky hipster disguises. And now they're all over the news and the Winter Soldier is corrupting Captain America… or something. Bucky doesn't really care. It's a really cute scarf. It's got bunnies on it. Natasha knitted it. Herself. So Steve wears it even though it's a bit lumpy. Really. Who could resist that.

"Scarf." Bucky says again, points to the offending garment in the glossy front page pictures, and shrugs. His lawyer looks about ready to turn green and hulk-smash the conference table. Totally worth it.

"I need a drink," Jennifer says and leaves the room in exasperation.

Success.

Getting Steve alone in a room with a giant table is always a success, in Bucky's well educated opinion. Turns out anything with Steve is usually worth it. That's always been kinda the point. End of the line might be a fair way off, but it's gonna be one hell of a ride.


End file.
